On this episode of Roadkill
Category
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MotorTranscript
00:00 This '73 Plymouth Fury hasn't run in seven years,
00:03 and we've only got 12 hours to get it ready to go endurance racing.
00:06 But the other thing is, we're gonna drive this thing on the street, like 300 miles to get to the race.
00:11 Dude! Watch the paint!
00:15 [engine revving]
00:17 [tires screeching]
00:19 [glass shattering]
00:21 [tires screeching]
00:23 [music]
00:39 The story of this '73 Plymouth Fury actually started a full year ago when we prepped it to go race at 24 Hours of Lemons.
00:47 And we didn't air the episode at the time, but now we've finally come full circle with the Fury,
00:52 and it was time to show you exactly what happened.
00:55 I bought this Fury in 2007 or 2008, back when I was working for CarJunkieTV.com, which no longer exists.
01:07 And for one of our shows, we built the Fury up into a 24 Hours of Lemons racer.
01:12 Now, the 24 Hours of Lemons is an endurance race where you have to run with cars ostensibly built for $500.
01:18 And the Fury was completely legit, because I bought it from the original owner for $200,
01:25 and we had a riot at CarJunkie, setting this thing on fire multiple times and hacking it into a race car.
01:32 At the end of the last Lemons race, we broke an engine mount, which made the engine rock up and the fan go into the radiator.
01:39 But aside from that, the Fury was pretty much ready to go.
01:42 The thrash on the Fury was fairly epic, because we started on it on Thursday,
01:48 and we needed to be at Desert Center, California, Chuckwalla Raceway, the next morning,
01:53 to go through tech and register so that we could race on Saturday.
01:56 I installed two headlights on the car, made a custom mount for them, had a cheesy angle iron,
02:02 wiring them up now, even though I'm made out of glass and we can't race with them.
02:07 This is just so I can humor Fryburger and drive this piece of crap all the way to the racetrack.
02:11 Hey Dave, I know you want to drive there, but there's our street tires.
02:15 I don't think we're getting there on these.
02:17 Does this bother you?
02:18 A little bit.
02:20 You know, got a wife, got a kid, kind of want to see them again.
02:23 You just put that on the rear if you're really a wuss, I mean, what's the problem?
02:26 What makes you think the rear doesn't look like that?
02:28 I've only told you about this one.
02:30 Oh, nah. Where's your sense of adventure?
02:32 Okay, you're not worried, I'm not worried.
02:34 The Thursday before the race, we dig the car out of mothballs, and it's a little bit of a mess.
02:40 Oh yeah, that right there is aluminum paste. May not make it past the first day of racing.
02:45 We'll change some fluid, beat on it like it owes us money, and pray to God it lasts through the whole race.
02:51 Because Freiburger was neck deep in work on the magazine, I was left to my own devices inside the shop,
02:57 trying to put the theory together by any means necessary, even if that meant robbing parts off of one of his other cars.
03:03 Somewhere along the line, Freiburger thought I went and got a radiator, I thought he went and got a radiator.
03:09 We have no radiator.
03:10 This is David's Buick, I'm taking this radiator.
03:13 Freshies!
03:16 The 12 hours leading up to our initial test drive was full of welding, grinding, cutting, wiring.
03:22 The car needed a ton of work.
03:24 Right on my shirt. Down my back.
03:28 That burns.
03:30 Wheels and... we mostly got wheels and tires.
03:35 Radiator's done.
03:37 Power steering problem's fixed, just put some fluid in there.
03:41 That's good.
03:42 It's one in the morning and we really haven't done everything that needs to happen to the Fury,
03:46 but I figure there's no reason to go any further if it doesn't run and drive okay.
03:50 Hoping the transmission works. It's smoking pretty good.
03:59 My main fear is the transmission.
04:01 That and I gotta rebuild this carburetor, obviously. It's got no accelerator pump shot.
04:05 Okay, it goes in gear.
04:10 The tire rubs.
04:12 That's everything I remember and more.
04:18 I wonder if we should have bolted the front wheel bond before we tried this.
04:22 That might have been a good idea.
04:24 I'd forgotten what a fine race car this thing is.
04:27 This thing is thin.
04:30 Yeah!
04:32 If I do a burnout in the company party, I'll get in trouble.
04:37 So are we pushing it off a cliff or going racing?
04:40 Transmission works.
04:42 The motor mount is clunky.
04:44 Brakes work. Goes straight.
04:46 The big problems are I'm not sure it's charging.
04:49 We need to put a voltmeter on the battery.
04:51 And right now it is at 240 degrees.
04:54 Alright, I'm gonna say sleep for a couple hours and get back up.
04:58 It's 1.30. I could use food.
05:00 Do we have beer?
05:01 No. That's the problem on this whole program.
05:04 No beer.
05:06 [A few hours later]
05:08 I splashed ATF in my eye last night.
05:13 And not only is it bright red, but it's like painful.
05:16 So I'm breaking down and going to the doctor.
05:18 I'm gonna steal these wheels off Freiburger's Buick.
05:23 He's not gonna like this at all.
05:25 But what the hell, I already stole the radiator out of the car.
05:27 It's not like he can drive it anywhere.
05:30 [A few hours later]
05:32 They told me I'm a moron, but I'm not gonna go blind.
05:38 I've got drops.
05:40 Got to the point where there was no way we were gonna finish this car in time
05:45 without calling in some reinforcements.
05:47 Yeah, you might notice I'm not exactly dressed for working on the car,
05:50 but they're still here and they're not supposed to be.
05:53 So, all hands on deck.
05:56 Jesse's wiring up some electric fans right now.
05:59 Then we're gonna hook up a kill switch that kills the power through the whole car.
06:03 You need that. It's a safety item. You need it to pass tech.
06:06 And then we're out of here, I hope.
06:08 So I welded in new mounts for a radiator, added two bars to the roll cage,
06:17 welded the base of the roll cage to the floor of the car,
06:20 but most importantly, I added the donkey to the roof.
06:24 In episode two, I went to the Grand Canyon and I bought a donkey.
06:29 And it rode home on the Ranchero's roof.
06:32 This is Donkey's last ride.
06:34 He's leaving my living room.
06:36 He's going racing right there.
06:38 The donkey really should have been the good luck that carried us through to the finish line.
06:53 Why is the Buick on jack stands?
06:55 We needed wheels to go racing, right?
06:58 We got the black ones.
07:00 Yeah, only two of the four black ones actually bolt onto the car.
07:04 Just the fronts.
07:07 So you want to use the wheels off the Buick?
07:09 Well, they do fit. They do bolt on.
07:11 The car's not going anywhere anyway because that's where I got the radiator.
07:14 You're parting out my junk?
07:18 Dude.
07:19 It's really not very nice junk, to be honest with you. I mean...
07:22 This was a perfectly good running, driving, daily driven vehicle.
07:26 And now it's a Freiburger vehicle.
07:28 And now it's going to sit here for a year and a half.
07:30 But you get to go racing.
07:35 See? Racing. Look. Racing.
07:38 We're nearing the end. I just got the seat in and the harnesses.
07:41 We're going to throw the passenger seat in.
07:43 Swap some tires around, I think.
07:45 And we're finally ready to hit the road.
07:47 There's no chance we're going to make it there in time for tech inspection today.
07:50 So we're just going to roll out there and hope that they take care of us in the morning.
07:54 No gas gauge. No bolt gauge. No speedo.
07:58 No problem. Let's go.
08:00 Go. Go. Go.
08:02 You can do it!
08:04 There we go.
08:06 Alright.
08:09 That was a good sign.
08:10 I feel good about it.
08:11 Oh!
08:12 There we go.
08:19 Will it do a burnout?
08:20 Oh yeah.
08:21 Prove it.
08:22 Probably not right now.
08:23 She's got some sway to her.
08:27 It's only got 600 pounds of junk in the trunk.
08:30 Sounds like one of my ex-girlfriends.
08:32 Of course, prepping the Fury took a full day longer than we thought it was going to.
08:37 And we hit the road late on Friday night,
08:39 driving through the night in order to get out to Desert Center in time to sign up for the race at Chuckwalla Raceway.
08:48 Saturday morning, we wake up and motor 30 miles from our hotel to Chuckwalla Raceway.
08:54 We get there just in time to go through the driver's meeting,
08:57 but well past the time to get the car through tech inspection before the race starts.
09:02 And the car is literally overheating as we inched our way into the event.
09:10 And the car failed miserably the tech inspection.
09:15 There's gaps everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, and then everywhere.
09:18 So you got to take care of those. It's got to be welded all the way around.
09:21 Fuel leaks, the gasket on your fuel tank is shot.
09:24 Our big fail here was that the entire top half of the roll cage was not welded 360 degrees around each bar, which is not legal.
09:32 They pointed out all the poor welds and gaps in the fitment of the roll cage where it meets the floor of the car,
09:37 and they just sent us back to our pit to fill all those gaps.
09:41 I put four holes in the roof of the car just big enough to get the mid gun in there so I could weld these bars.
09:46 I got to weld some more spots on the cage.
09:48 We got to fix the fuel filler neck on the fuel cell because the gasket's dry rotted.
09:52 So we're probably going to start an hour late and a lot of laps down.
09:57 But I don't care. All I care about is finishing. That's all that matters.
10:01 We just realized another glaring tech violation.
10:04 You're supposed to have tow hooks on both ends, and we forgot to do that last night.
10:07 It wasn't even on the list. So we're going to have to scrounge something and make some.
10:11 All right. I feel good about that.
10:20 This welder sucked so bad that the booger welds I laid down in there really didn't make this cage safer.
10:26 They just made the tech inspector happy.
10:28 Please let us through tech. I'm tired of working.
10:30 There's Jay, the guy who specifically told us he wanted that brace.
10:34 I wonder if he forgot.
10:37 Are you guys ready?
10:45 God, I hope so.
10:47 We did fix everything you asked us to fix.
10:49 It's actually done fairly well.
10:51 Yeah, it's like you guys know what you're doing.
10:52 Yeah.
10:53 We didn't want to fail you twice.
10:54 Many do.
10:55 That's like getting a GED.
10:57 Yeah.
10:58 Just enough to graduate.
11:00 We got a D minus in tech, but that's okay.
11:03 We feel good about it.
11:05 Our goals are number one, have fun.
11:08 So far we've accomplished that.
11:10 We want to finish, and we want to finish ahead of someone.
11:14 Oh, and I have to pass somebody too. That would be good.
11:17 So basically this is a big game of go-karts.
11:19 And by the time Freiburger actually made a lap, we were like 200 laps down from the rest of the field.
11:28 Yeah! We're racing!
11:30 I see the ass coming down the front straight right now.
11:33 Looking good, looking sexy, sir.
11:35 I have never been on this track before and have no idea where I'm going.
11:40 I'm getting hit.
11:42 Every freak in the world that's into auto racing must be here at this point.
11:49 I love them all.
11:51 I'm getting passed bad!
11:54 The handle's horrible!
12:00 There's two or three pizza delivery trucks on the track.
12:04 I don't think we have to eat PB&J tonight.
12:06 I think we can get hooked up with some deep dish.
12:09 David, can I get a copy?
12:13 Or are you just really focused on trying to catch the Scud missile car?
12:17 I copy!
12:19 Car's running right at 200.
12:21 I passed a BMW!
12:28 Okay, you passed a BMW. What are you going to pass next?
12:31 The Fury tends to understeer just a little bit.
12:34 Uh-oh, it's smoking good!
12:38 Maybe all the oil is gone.
12:42 It's an oil leak.
12:45 Finnegan!
12:48 Go for Finnegan!
12:50 I gotta come in! Temperature is pegged!
12:53 It's pegged, pegged?
12:56 Pegged, pegged?
12:57 No, it's at like 240.
13:00 I'm wondering if I should take a cool-down lap or if actually something has gone wrong.
13:04 Make a cool-down lap. See if it drops. If it doesn't, come in.
13:08 We don't know if something's wrong. He's going to slow his pace a little bit.
13:12 See if it cools off after another lap.
13:14 If it doesn't, we'll pull it in the pit and see if we need to apply some band-aids to this thing.
13:19 You have an open track, sir. The Scud missile Miata just pulled off.
13:25 It's cooling down.
13:26 Go really fast and don't let that car behind you pass you.
13:31 And you're fired.
13:33 How are you going to get past my Cavalier?
13:37 God help him if he breaks that car before I get to drive it.
13:40 I've got to take it real easy and cool it down.
13:43 It's still at 230. It doesn't want to come down from there.
13:48 Yeah, it is not getting any cooler.
13:53 I'm going to set it up on 250. I'm bringing it in.
13:55 I don't know what we're going to do. Let it sit. Let it cool off.
13:59 Maybe put some more water in it. See if it's leaking anything and maybe get back out there today.
14:04 Oh man, as soon as I pulled in, it went right to 250.
14:07 Uh-oh.
14:11 Is there a rule that says you have to have a hood?
14:13 There is?
14:15 Yeah.
14:16 How much of a hood?
14:17 We take the scoop off.
14:19 Right.
14:20 Let's take the scoop off.
14:22 If they say anything, we weld it back on.
14:24 Right.
14:25 All right.
14:31 The Hemi hood scoop, gone.
14:34 Ventilation.
14:35 I feel good about this plan.
14:37 Fryburger brought me an overheated race car.
14:39 We cooled it off, put some water in it, cut a big hole in the hood, made a duct out of some cardboard.
14:44 Got about 30 minutes left in this session.
14:47 See how many laps we can get done right here.
14:49 Hope it starts.
14:50 Come on, baby.
14:51 We're going to need a jump.
14:53 All right.
14:55 Let's go take Docky for a ride.
14:56 I hopped in the Fury and was stoked to finally take this thing around Chuckwalt.
15:01 I'm going lemons racing.
15:03 Yeah, bitches.
15:04 We are already smoking.
15:06 I literally got in this car, got 50 feet from the paddock, and it's down on power.
15:13 Pull it down into first or second gear.
15:15 It doesn't want to go into second gear.
15:17 I had that problem too because in third it doesn't want to pull.
15:21 That's why I had it down in first and second.
15:23 And the trans isn't shifting.
15:25 And I'm getting past.
15:27 And before I know it, I hear a rod knock.
15:30 And I'm in the dirt.
15:33 What is your status?
15:36 Are you off the track?
15:37 Yes, I'm off the track, sitting in the dirt, pissed off.
15:40 The gauge is at 260 right now.
15:44 You guys better have ice cold freaking beer waiting for me when I get dragged back into that pit.
15:49 After 72 back-breaking hours of me sweating my nuts off with a MIG gun in my hand,
15:55 this car blows up half a lap into my trip on the track.
15:59 Fabric, I want to thank you for an amazing driving experience.
16:03 You kill the car, then you give it to me, and it seizes up.
16:07 Now you know why this episode is sat for a full year.
16:12 It was flat-out embarrassing.
16:14 We failed worse than we ever have.
16:16 And the only thing that's going to fix my foul mood is the thought of a cold six-pack waiting in the pit.
16:22 This one's empty.
16:24 We're going to need a lot more of these.
16:26 The Fury was not going to live to fight another day.
16:29 We shoved the thing back up onto a trailer and headed for home with our tails between our legs.
16:40 The LeMons fail was even bad by Roadkill standards, and the car sat for the next eight months.
16:46 As a matter of fact, you can see it hidden under a tarp in the Jeep Ride episode of Roadkill.
16:51 But finally, this whole story comes full circle.
16:54 Back when I picked up the '73 Fury, I also traded a set of cylinder heads for a '68 Charger with no engine in it.
17:01 And the thing is completely gutted and not a stitch of interior.
17:05 My plan was to take the drive train out of the Fury and put it in the Charger.
17:09 And finally, we're going to do that.
17:11 Now, the motor's junk, so that's not going in the Charger.
17:14 But the truth is, we did install that transmission from the Fury, and we didn't remember until we saw this old footage that the transmission is probably junk.
17:23 And it's installed in the Charger right now.
17:25 But you know what? That's a story for the next episode of Roadkill.
17:30 I think I got my $200 worth out of the Fury.
17:34 We raced it twice at 24 Hours of Lemons, and finally, we've stripped the thing for everything that I need for my '68 Charger project.
17:41 And so, it's a sad day to part with this thing.
17:44 But we loaded up the Fury onto this flatbed and sent it to the junkyard.
18:01 Everybody's been asking us, "Where's the '55 Chevy?"
18:04 So on this episode of Roadkill, we're still not working on it.
18:09 I've been sleeping like that for a while.
18:20 I've been awake 24 hours already.
18:23 This '73...
18:25 This is why it takes 19 hours to install a small block.
18:30 Yeah!
18:31 I'm guessing we finished somewhere near the back of the pack.
18:38 I could be wrong.